View all articles in this issue
The “Skinny†on Coffee Drinkers: Gender Differences in Healthy Beverage Choices
Download this article for $1.00 (FREE for Members)
by Rachel L. Osborne, Braden D. Ackley and Traci A. Giuliano - Southwestern University
The goal of the present study was to explore the relationship between gender and health-conscious beverage decisions. Based on the notion that females are generally more preoccupied with their health, it was hypothesized that females would be more likely than would males to order a healthy beverage than an unhealthy beverage. To explore this relationship, a naturalistic observational study was conducted in a popular coffee shop in Texas, and the drink orders of 96 patrons (34 males, 62 females) were classified as either healthy or unhealthy. As predicted, the results revealed a relationship between participants’ orders and their gender, such that females (relative to males) were significantly likely to order the healthy version of a beverage. These findings suggest that health-food advertising may be reaching a primarily female population.